Switch throw for railways



April 19, 1949. F. K. HOLMESTED.

SWITCH THROW FOR RAILWAYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 14, 1947 INVENTOR.EWhcZB'ZFOb/Zddd BY April 19, 1949. F. K. HOLMESTED 2,467,750

SWITCH THROW FOR RAILWAYS v Filed July 14, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTOR. 1 561606191, fiwm sze'd Mt (6m Patented Apr. 19, 1949 SWITCHTHROW FOR RAILWAYS Francis K. Holmested, Charleston, W. Va., assignor toNellie Atkinson Holmested, Charleston, W. Va.

Application July 14, 1947, Serial No. 760,898

Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in switches for railways,and more especially to means for throwing the switch to direct cars orother railway rolling stock onto one or another track, and a generalobject of the invention is to provide a novel and improved switch throwwhich is simple in construction and which requires a minimum number ofparts and can be manufactured and installed inexpensively and withfacility.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a switch throwwhich enables a cam and cooperating pin to be employed as a directoperating means between the throw lever and a member connected to theswitch points.

Another primary object of the invention is to provide a switch throwwhich enables a positive operating connection to be employed between thethrow lever and switch points for setting the latter according to theposition into which said lever is thrown, for directing cars or otherrolling stock approaching the switch in one direction onto one oranother track as desired, and which will permit a car or other rollingstock approaching the switch from the opposite direction and on a trackfor which the switch points are not set, to run through the switchwithout damage to the switch points or other parts of the switchmechanism, employment of springs for permitting such latter operation,as heretofore, being unnecessary.

To these and other ends, th invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafterdescribed in detail, the features of novelty being pointed out moreparticularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings:.

Figure 1 is a top plan of the improved switch I prising preferably ascrew eye Figure 5 is an elevation of the end of the crank having th camfaces thereon.

Figures 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in whichthe pin on the throw lever cooperates with the cam faces.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in theseveral views.

The present invention is applicable to railway switches having one ormore switch points shiftable into one or another position to direct carsor other rolling stock onto one or another track, as may be desired. Thepreferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings and will be hereinafter described in detail, but it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the precise structureshown, as equivalent structures embodying the invention arecontemplated, and such will be included within the scope of the claims.

The improved switch throw is shown in the present instance applied to arailway switch of conventional form comprising rails l of a main trackand rails 2 of another track, to one or the other of which cars or otherrolling stock may be directed by a pair of switch points 3 which areconnected by a head rod 4 and are shiftable simultaneously in the usualand well known manner.

The improved switch throw in its preferred form and as shown in thepresent instance, comprises a crank 6 which is pivoted on a vertical pin'5 fixed to and projecting upwardly from a base plate 8 which isfastened in place beside the track as by spikes driven through openings9 in the plate into the ends of ties adjacent to the switch, as shown.Th crank 6 carries an operating member for the switch points, and thismember is preferably adjustable to accommodate it to the extent of throwrequired for the points of the switch to which the switch throw isapplied, this operating member comlfl which is threaded into a side ofthe crank, the ey H thereon being pivotally connected to the outer endof a connecting rod l2, the other end of this rod being pivotallyconnected as at l3 to the head rod 4 connecting the switch points. Swingof the crank 6 about its pivot pin 1 into the position shown in Figure 1will shift the switch points to direct cars onto the rails l, and swing3 of the crank into the opposite position shown by the dotted lines inFigure 2 will shift the switch points to direct cars onto the rails 2,the extent of shifting movement of the switch points being variable byadjusting the screw eye III in the crank.

The crank 6 is rotated or swung about its pivot I to shift the switchpoints by athrow lever I4 which is pivoted to swing in a vertical planeabout a pin I5 which is removably fitted in a lug I6 which projectsupwardly from the base plate 8, the pin I5 being retained in place by acotter pin IT. The. throw. lever is thus. adapted, to, be; swung in oneor' the; other direction, about its; pivot pin I 5 and to rest on thebase plate 8 at one or the other side of the pivot pin I5 in a substantially horizontal position, it being normally held in such position by aweight I8 on its outer end, which also serves as a handle. for operatingthe. throw lever.

The present invention provides a novel and improved operating connectionbetween the throw lever I4 and the crank 6 whereby the latter will shiftthe switch points into one or the other position when thethrow lever isthrown into oneor the other of its positions at opposite sides of itspivot pin. I5. This improved operating connection according to thepresent. invention comprises. a pin. 20 which. is fixed to the throwlever I 4 adjacent tov its pivot pin I5,and projects ata right angleinwardly toward the crank 6, and a pair of cam facesZI which are formedon the face. or. end ofv the crank 6. which is. adjacent to the throwlever, the end of the pin 20 being rounded to engage slidably the cam.faces 2| on the crank. Since the. cam face engaging end of the pin. 20will swing in atrue vertical plane as the throw lever is swung about itspivot pin I5 whereas. the facev or end of the crank on which the. camfaces, 2.I are, formed will swing in an are about the pivot I, asindicated diagrammatically in Figs. 6 and '7, the. cam faces aredesigned preferably to lie in. a curve in a vertical. plane which is sogenerated with reference to the vertical plane and arc. of movement ofthe. rounded end of the. pin 20 that. the rounded end of the pin 20,will be confined between the cam faces 2i, at, all points. throughoutthe. range of swinging move,- ment of. the throw lever and of the. crank6.. When the, throw lever. is swung into one or the other of its.extreme positions at one. or the. other side of pivot pin. I5, therounded end of the pin 20 will assume a position substantially at thebottom of. the cam faces. 2|, and while the throw lever is at its midpoint in, its swing from one. position to the other, the rounded end. ofthe pin 20 will occupy a position at or near the top of the cam faces.While the throw lever is between either of its extreme positions and itsupright or mid position, the pin 20 will occupy a position, opposite to.the portions of the cam, faces 2 I between, their lower and, upper ends,as will be. apparentfrom Figs. G-and '7.

The cam faces ZI' diverge transversely from the. radial plane of theaxis of the, pivot I to. the outer end of the crank, as shown in Figs. 2and 6, thus providing for the angularity between the crank 6. and thecylindrical path described by the axis of the pin 20. as the, throwlever is thrown from, one to the other of its operative positions. Sincethe pin 20 remains in engagement with one or the other of the cam facesthroughout the swing of. the throw lever, the crank 6 and the switchpoints connected thereto are at all times connected to the throw lever.The lower ends of the, cam

faces are preferably connected by a transverse bottom portion of thecrank, as shown at 2 Ia, this bottom portion being preferably bevelledin order that the pin 20 may squeeze out any dirt that might accumulateat the lower ends of the cam faces, and this transverse bottom portionof the crank will prevent accidental dislodgement of the crank 6 fromits pivot pin I while the throw lever is in one or the other of itsoperative positions. While the throw lever occupies any positionintermediate its operative positions, the lower portion of the cam faceswill underlie the rounded end of. the pin 20 and. thereby preventaccidental lifting or dislodgement of tthe, crank: from its pivot pin I.However, by removing the pin I5 and the throw lever mounted thereon, thecrank 6 may be lifted from its pivot pin I, if necessary, and the partsmay be assembled by a reverse operation.

Preferably and, as shown in the present instance, the slope of the lowerportions of the cam faces 2I in the vertical plane is sufficiently steepto permit a car or other rolling stock to run through the switch forwhich the switch is not set, without requiring the throw lever to bethrown manually. For example, the switch as shown, in Fig. l is set fora car or the like approaching the switch from the right on the rails I,but if a car should approach the switch from said direction on. thetrack 2 while the switch is so set, the switch points 3. will be shiftedsufficiently to permit such car to run through the switch by engagementof the flanged car wheels with, the switch points, without damaging theswitch points or other parts of the switch mechanism, although the throwlever may not have been thrown manually for such passage of a car. Insuchan event, the force applied to the switch points by the car wheelswill act through the head rod, 4. and connecting rod I2 to rotate thecrank about its pivot, Lthe lower portions ofthe respective cam faces 2|having a sufiiciently steep slope that its angle to the path of travelof the rounded endof thepin 2,0 is greater than the critical angle ofstatic, friction, the crank thus acting on the pin 20, to lift the throwlever about its pivot pin I5 to a suificient extent to permit the carwheels to. pass, the switch points. A similar operation would occur ifa, car approached the switch from the right. on the rails I while theswitch is set for the rails. 2.

The curve of the cam faces 2 I in the vertical plane may be generatedsubstantially in the manner shown diagrammatically in Figs. 6 and 7,wherein the. line A-A, represents approximately the plane of movement ofthe rounded end of the pin 20, 2I represents the cam faces in the crank6, I represents the center about which the crank swings and I5 thecenter about which the throw lever swings, and, the arcs a.a, andb-brepresent respectively the path of movement of the axis. of the p 25. anhe. i e of co tac b en. the rounded end of thepin 2,0, and the camfaces, the curve generated being substantially as shown in, profile,inEig. 4.

The prese t. inv ntion p ov des. a i h h ow which requires a minimumnumber of parts, and; it, may be manufactured and installedinexpensively and with facility, which are of particular advantage asapplied to switches employed on industrial railways such, for example,as those used in mines and for similar purposes.

By providing the throw lever with a pin the axis of which travels in acylindrical path as the throw lever is thrown from one to the otherposi-. tion, and cam faces on the crank to cooperate cli switch on atrack for which the switch is not set, damage to the switch points orother parts is avoided in a simple manner, the expense and other obviousobjections to employing a spring connection between the throw lever andswitch points, as heretofore, being thus avoided.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention,

the parts of the switch throw are mounted on the metal base plate 8which may be readily spiked to the railway ties, the base plate havingthe pivot lug l6 and adjacent pivot pin 1 projecting upwardly therefrom.In assembling the parts on the base plate, the crank 6 is placed on thepivot pin 1 and seated on the base plate, and the throw lever I4 isplaced between the lug and crank with the pin 20 located between the camfaces, after which the pivot pin 15 is inserted and retained by thecotter pin [1. Since the space between the lower ends of the cam faces2| is closed by the connecting portion Zla, said connecting portion willbe engageable with the pin 20 to retain the crank on its pivot pin 1while the crank is swung to either of the limits of its movement, andwhile the crank occupies a position intermediate of its end positions, aportion at least of the cam faces will underlie the laterally projectingpin 20, and the crank will be thereby retained on its pivot pin 1.Accidental displacement of the crank from its pivot pin is therebyprevented. However, the throw lever and the crank may be readilyremoved, if occasion requires, by simply removing the pivot pin 15.

I claim:

1. A switch throw for railway switches, comprising a throw lever and aswitch. operating crank pivotally mounted respectively on intersectingaxes in substantially right angular rela tion for swinging movementsrespectively in arcs in planes substantially in right angular relation,the crank extending radially from its pivotal axis and having on itsouter end a pair of faces which diverge from the medial radial plane ofthe crank and toward the outer end and sides of the crank and slopetransversely of the plane of pivotal movement of the crank and in adirection from the outer end of the crank toward the pivotal axis of thecrank, a pin fixed to the throw lever and projecting laterally therefromin parallelism with the pivotal axis of the throw lever, said pin havinga rounded end which extends into a position between said faces and ismovable in an arc in a plane which intersects the arc of pivotalmovement of the outer end of the crank for direct engagement with one orthe other of said faces by movement of the throw lever in one or theother direction about its pivotal axis, and means for operativelyconnecting the crank to the switch.

2. A switch throw for railway switches, comprising a throw lever and aswitch operating crank having means for mounting them on horizontal andvertical axes respectively to swing in arcs in vertical and horizontalplanes respectively, the crank extending radially from its pivotal axisand having on its outer end a pair of faces which diverge from themedial vertical radial plane of the crank toward the outer end and sidesof the crank and slope upwardly on the outer end of the crank toward thepivotal axis of the crank, and a pin fixed to the throw lever andprojecting laterally therefrom in parallelism with the pivotal axis ofthe throw lever, said pin having an end which extends into a positionbetween said faces and is movable in an arc in a plane which intersectsthe arc of swing of the outer end of the crank for direct engagement ofthe end of the pin with one or the other of said faces by pivotalmovement of the throw lever on its pivotal axis.

3. A switch throw for railway switches, comprising a throw lever pivotedon a horizontal axis to swing in a vertical plane, a pin fixed to thethrow lever and projecting therefrom in parallelism with the pivotalaxis thereof and laterally from the plane of pivotal movement of thethrow lever, said pin having a rounded end which is movable in an arc ina vertical plane, and a switch operating crank pivoted on a verticalaxis intersecting the pivotal axis of the throw lever and extendingradially from its pivotal axis to swin in a substantially horizontalplane with its outer end swinging in an arc in a plane which intersectsthe arc of swing of the outer end of said pin, the crank having a pairof faces on its outer end which diverge from the medial vertical radialplane of the crank and toward the outer end and sides thereof and whichfaces slope from the outer end of the crank upwardly toward the pivotalaxis of the crank, said faces being directly engageable by the roundedend of said pin to rotate the crank when the throw lever is swung on itspivotal axis.

4. In a railway switch having shiftable switch points, a switch throwcomprising a throw lever having means for mounting it on a horizontalaxis for arcuate swinging movements in a vertical plane into either oftwo extreme operated positions, a pin fixed to the throw lever andprojecting laterally therefrom in parallelism with the axis of pivotalmovement thereof, said pin being provided with a rounded outer end whichis movable in an arc in a vertical plane, a crank having means forpivotally mounting it on a vertical axis which intersects the pivotalaxis of the throw lever and extending radially from its pivotal axis toswing in a horizontal plane with its outer end swinging in an are whichintersects the plane of the arc of swing of the outer end of said pin,the crank having a pair of faces on its outer end which diverge from themedial vertical radial plane of the crank toward the outer end and sidesthereof and are directly engageable by the rounded outer end of saidpin, and an operating connection between the crank and switch points,said faces having a slope from the outer end of the crank upwardlytoward the pivotal axis of the crank which slope is sufficiently steepto transmit movement of the switch points by the wheels of a car runningthrough the switch to said pin on the throw lever and thereby move thethrow lever from either of its extreme positions.

5. A switch throw for railways, comprising a base plate having a lug andan adjacent vertical pivot both projecting upwardly therefrom, a throwlever having a pin projecting laterally therefrom, a horizontal pivotfor said lever removably mounted in said lug in parallelism with saidlaterally projecting pin for supporting the throw lever to swing theouter end of said pin in an arc in a vertical plane, and a switchoperating crank rotatably and removably mounted on said upwardlyprojecting pivot and extending radially therefrom to swing in ahorizontal plane with its outer end swingin in an are which intersectsthe plane of the arc of swing award of the outer end-.01: saidiaterally.projecting pin,, the crank-having a pair of faces on its outer-end whichdiverge from; the, medial vertical radial plane'of the crank towardtheouter endand sides thereof and slope from theouter end of the crankupwardly toward the upwardlyprojectin pivot, said faces being engageableby theouter end of said; laterally projecting pin, on the throw lever tooperate the crank and to retain the crankon, said upwardly projectingpivot while the crank is at either end of its pivotal movement, and aportion of one or the other ofgsaid faces under.- lying the outerend ofsaid laterally projecting pin on the throw lever while the crank isbetweenrsaid end positions to retain the crank on 15,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the',

file-of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

